FX Says Justified Will End After Six Seasons

Well this blows. I only have two real joys in life — watching new episodes of “Justified” on the FX Channel and eating waffle fries from Chick-fil-A. Now it looks like I’ll only be able to indulge in one of those things in a few short years, because according to FX President Nick Grad, the show may only have two more seasons left, counting the recently premiered fifth season.

Speaking at a recent DGA event, Grad told Variety about the show’s future:

We like having shows that rate really well, and there’s an instinct that you want it to go on forever. But it doesn’t. Another metric that’s important to us [beyond ratings] is, ‘What shows are going to be talked about in the next 20 years?’ If you’re making a great, 80-hour movie, it has to have a beginning, middle and end. Going out at the right time is going to make your show last forever — we want to make shows that stand the test of time.

Well that’s disappointing. As far as I know, the show’s ratings have been pretty good for a basic cable TV show, and it’s not like this is “Almost Human,” which has a huge budget. Most of the action is pretty low-key and cheap to produce, which is exactly why “Justified” is such a great show. No one’s going to be shooting lasers or flying around onscreen.

Oh well, six seasons of “Justified” is a lot better than none, I suppose. The show’s Season 5, which premiered last night, was kick ass, with a bunch of new characters that I hope will stick around for longer than a few episodes. There’s something awesome about Michael Rapaport as a country redneck criminal lowlife.